Prized Possession
by buffygirl52789
Summary: If someone had asked her back at the beginning of this ordeal what her most prized possession was, she probably would have hesitated before delivering a semisarcastic answer.


**Rating: **PG

**Disclaimer: **All belongs to Joss.

**Words**: 2647

**Timeline**: Set during Chosen.

**Author's Note:** Written for the CYA ficathon at livejournal. Many thanks toLeni for doing an awesome job organizing. This prompt was a challenge for me, and I'm glad for the opportunity. Request is at the end of the story. As always, feedback is much appreciated. Enjoy!

> > > > >

Buffy stood there for a second, just holding the scythe and staring down at Caleb, or rather what was left of him. She glanced up at Angel, who was just staring at her, his expression a combination of amusement and something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Something in the back of her mind told her that now was the time when she would classically make a wry joke, but for some reason the words just didn't come. Still holding the scythe, she took a step closer to the slain preacher, reaching down and yanking her claddagh ring off his pinkie. She held it up to eye level, examining it, a thousand thoughts and emotions running through her mind.

If someone had asked her back at the beginning of this ordeal what her most prized possession was, she probably would have hesitated before delivering a semi-sarcastic answer such as Mr. Pointy or even Mr. Gordo. For so long this ring had just sat there in the back of her drawer, almost forgotten, a reminder of a very meaningful time in her life. During the first year or so Angel had been gone, she had taken it out once in a while, feeling it's cool weight in her palm, thinking back to the night he had given it to her and all the related memories, both good and bad. But after a while she had convinced herself to move on, allowing the simple ring to sit there collecting dust, just a materialistic reminder of something that seemed almost like another lifetime ago.

But as soon as Caleb had told her that he had it...it had all come rushing back. Something that if asked a week earlier she probably would have shrugged off, suddenly so important to her that she would kill a thousand incarnations of the First if that's what it took to get it back.

She hadn't told anyone. She had been alone with Caleb when he had first taunted her with it, and she had never told anyone else. Not Willow, not Giles, not Dawn. She assumed it would seem insignificant to them, and had instead insisted that Caleb didn't have anything of hers at all. They had a house full of terrified potential slayers and an impending war against the most powerful evil in the history of the world, of course a simple little ring would seem insignificant. But it wasn't to her. The thought of that monster wearing it had driven her even when everyone had turned against her, and today she had finally been victorious. Staring at it back in her own hand, she felt a certain satisfaction. But the moment also felt a little anticlimactic. When it really came down to it, there was nothing special about the ring itself. It was just a simple silver band with two hands holding a crowned heart. But it was what it represented to her that meant so much more. And now, with Angel standing merely feet away and the taste of his kiss still making her lips tingle, it seemed more real than ever.

"Buffy?" he said, his voice quiet and tentative. She felt him move closer and peer over her shoulder. She instinctively closed her hand around the ring, but he reached out, gently pulling back her fingers and taking the small object from her.

She didn't look at him as he processed the significance of what had just occurred, but she could picture what he probably looked like. A little puzzled, even sad maybe. A long moment passed before he said anything. "This is...I gave this to you," he finally said, his voice strained and slightly confused.

"He had it," she said softly, turning around to face him, making herself look him in the eye. "He told me he had something of mine. He wasn't lying."

Angel looked from the ring to her and back again. "To be honest I wasn't even sure you still had it," he admitted. "I wouldn't have blamed you if you had gotten rid of it a long time ago..."

"I wanted to. At first," Buffy agreed. "But I couldn't." She smiled sadly. "I've got to hand it to him. He knew what would get me going."

Angel appeared to be truly at a loss for words. Finally he settled for not saying anything at all, and just handed the ring back to Buffy. Her fingers touched his as he did so, and neither of them was in any hurry to break the contact, letting them linger, skin lightly brushing skin. After a long moment she closed her fingers around the ring, smiling at him in thanks. The two of them just stood there, heavy yet not awkward silence hanging in the air. "Do you mind if we get out of here?" she finally said, not wishing to spend anymore time in this place. Angel nodded quickly, leading the way outside.

The air was cool and comforting, and neither of them could see any other signs of life. Just the two of them, alone, outside in one of Sunnydale's many graveyards. Buffy thought back to the countless times that they had patrolled together, remembering when she had looked forward to patrol all day simply because it was when she would get to see him. How things had changed. Or maybe they hadn't so much. Standing there in that moment, staring at him in the moonlight, she almost felt like she was seventeen again.

Almost.

"Why are you here?" Buffy asked suddenly, the words out of her mouth before she could think. She stared at him, wrapping her hand around her claddagh a little tighter and setting the scythe down on the ground.

"I came to help," he said simply. He handed over the file folder he had mentioned earlier. "Got word that you might need a hand."

She considered that for a moment. Her and Angel, fighting side by side. Just like old times. "No," she said, strength and resolve evident in her voice.

He blinked as if he hadn't heard properly. "Excuse me?"

"I said no. I think, as you saw back there, that I have it under control," she said stubbornly, turning to walk a few steps away from him.

As she expected, he followed her. "I'm not saying you don't. But that doesn't mean I can't help you. From what I've heard, this is gonna be quite the battle." He reached in his pocket, pulling out an amulet and dangling it from his hand. She slowly turned to look at it. "I don't know exactly what this is, just that it bestows strength upon the wearer. Might be dangerous. It can only be worn by someone stronger than human. A champion."

She held her free hand out expectantly, but he pulled it out of her reach. "No. I'm not letting you wear this. We don't know enough about it."

"Well if you're suggesting that you wear it, you're wrong, because you aren't going to be anywhere near me when this goes down," she said, her body tense.

He stared at her, perplexed. "And why is that, exactly?"

"Because I can't think straight when you're around," she blurted. "All it took was Caleb bringing up this ring for me to get all spun around. And then all of a sudden here you are...it's just too much. Trust me, it's better for both of us if you just go back to LA." She knew that she was being somewhat hypocritical, considering that when she had seen him less than five minutes earlier the first thing she had done was kiss him with everything she had. But that had been instinct, a foolish release of pent-up emotions. Now it was time to get back to business.

She couldn't read his expression as he took in her words. "I thought that we were both adult enough to handle this," he said flatly.

Buffy couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. "Angel, this has nothing to do with being adult or not. This has to do with me needing to keep a clear head. Caleb stole this from me to distract me, and it worked. I'm sorry to say it, but it did. So who knows, maybe you being here is part of some master plan to take me off my game. But I can't let it work." She took a deep breath. "I have a lot of people here that are on my side, people that I can trust. It would just be...easier if you weren't here."

She could see a hint of remorse in his eyes when she finished speaking. "Are you referring to Spike?" he asked, not bothering to hide his jealousy.

"You are not serious," she said, storming off a little ways, her arms crossed tightly in front of her, her hand still with a death grip on her claddagh ring.

"Oh come _on_ Buffy, I can smell him on you. Is he...is he your boyfriend?" he asked, his voice odd and strained.

"No. He's not. But for your information, Spike's different now. He has a soul," she said, briefly wondering why she was even defending Spike to Angel. She could tell that he had stopped dead in his tracks. The blonde slayer turned around to face him again. "Why is this even your business? I hardly know anything about your life in LA the past four years, but you waltz over here and want to know all about my relationships?"

His mouth opened and closed. She could tell he was practically aching to make some juvenile comment about Spike and her use of the word 'relationship', but he seemed to restrain himself. "Oh. So you want to know about my life? Is that it?" His tone was firm, but not flippant. She just stared at him, not sure how she was supposed to answer that. "Well, I have a son."

She felt like she had been slapped across the face. "E-excuse me?"

"I said, I have a son." His eyes fell to the ground, as he rubbed the toe of his shoe against something. "Well, I suppose _had_. I had to make a deal, sent him to a better life. He has no memory of me."

She stood there, frozen in place. "Angel..." A question blared in her mind, the first thought that had come to her from the moment he had made his little announcement. She wasn't sure if she dared to ask. He made up her mind for her.

"Darla was his mother," he said quietly, knowing that was what she had to be wondering.

Buffy frowned. "But...Darla's a..."

"Vampire. I know. There was a prophecy," he said simply. "She died, she killed herself to save our son. But then...things got complicated." He walked slowly toward her, leaning against a gravestone a few feet away. "He was kidnaped by an old enemy of mine, grew up in a hell dimension. When he fell back into my life only months later he was a teenager."

Buffy moved so she was next to him, just watching him, knowing that all she had to do was listen. She absently ran her fingers over her claddagh, still in her hand.

"He hated me at first. That's how he was raised. I tried so hard to make him see that I loved him, but it wasn't so easy." His jaw was set, his voice steady. "We made some progress though. But then...things got complicated again." He cleared his throat a little, and she could tell there was another story there, one that she probably didn't want to hear. "It came down to making a choice. I chose to let him have a normal family, a normal life. He doesn't remember me."

Without thinking, she slid her hand to his, entwining their fingers. "I'm so sorry." She shook her head a little, trying to absorb this huge bit of information. "Wow, I thought my life had been crazy these past couple of years...but I think you might have me beat."

He turned to look at her, managing a slight smile. "I'm sorry, about the Spike thing...I had no right."

She nodded, not exactly disagreeing. "It's okay. But for the record, he's not my boyfriend. I don't know what he is, actually." She paused. "But I do care about him." She noticed that Angel raised an eyebrow slightly as she said this.

"I guess we're both different people than we were back then," he said, staring into her eyes.

"Yeah, I guess so," she agreed. She opened her palm, staring down at the ring inside of it. Her tight clutching had left the imprint of a crowned heart on her palm. "But then, I look at this...and it seems like nothing has changed at all."

He looked down at it. "I remember when I bought that for you. I was so nervous you wouldn't like it."

"It's the best gift anyone's ever given me," she said truthfully.

He reached out and brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "How did we get here?" She closed her eyes at his touch, not responding. He slowly withdrew his hand, looking straight ahead once again.

"So. You really don't want me here?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I just really think it would be better if you left. And it's always good to have a second front. You know, just in case."

"Consider it done," he said. Wordlessly he handed over the amulet. "Be careful. Remember, we still don't know anything about that thing."

She pocketed it, nodding in agreement. The two of them sat there in silence for a minute. "I'm glad that you came," she finally said.

He glanced over at her. "Me too." He slowly rose from the gravestone. "I should get going, if I want to make it back before sunrise."

She nodded, the familiar sinking feeling that always persisted in her stomach whenever they said goodbye returning. "Yeah. Got that second front to work on." They exchanged a smile. He stood there for a second, obviously wanting to linger as long as possible in her presence.

"Goodbye, Buffy," he said finally. He slowly turned and began to walk away, disappearing behind her. Her mind reeled as he got farther and farther away until she finally called out.

"Angel."

He whirled around, a trace of hope in his eyes as he looked at her expectantly. "Do you ever think there'll be another time for us?" she blurted. She was holding the ring in one hand and gently stroking it's smooth surface with the other.

"I'm not gettin' any older," he said. As he walked slowly into the dark, she knew he was smiling. Once she knew he wasn't coming back, she leaned against the stone, thinking about everything that had just happened. There was so much to think about, from the mind-blowing kiss to Angel's revelation to the whole ordeal with Caleb to the imminent battle. But at least now she had something to get her through, the faintest ray of hope at the end of the tunnel. She slowly slid the ring onto her finger, with the heart pointing towards her, never having forgotten his poetic explanation of the ring's meaning. Then she slowly got to her feet, picked up the scythe, and walked through the graveyard towards home, smiling to herself all the way.

> > > > >

Request:  
Focus on B/A, and the non-romantic relationship between Angel and Connor.  
Any other pairing character you wish can be in the story, but I would like it to be set as though canon in series seven of Buffy.  
When Caleb says he has something of Buffy's it's not a trap - he has Buffy's Claddagh ring.  
You can do absolutely anything you want with this starting point, from a small cast trip to LA to find out what's going on, to a full out Scooby-Fang Gang unition to fight the First Evil, but can it end relatively happily? Bittersweet is okay - just not absolute despair.


End file.
